Man claims to see 'demons,' strangles cat and beats up girlfriend

Christian Rizk, 37, strangled a cat and beat up his girlfriend after he claimed to see 'demons,' police said.

By Bianca Prieto, Orlando Sentinel
12:45 p.m. EDT, July 15, 2010

An Orlando man strangled a cat and beat up his girlfriend after he claimed to see 'demons' late Wednesday night, police said.

Christian Rizk, 37, is facing several charges including domestic violence and cruelty to animals following yesterday's attack. He is being held without bond at the Orange County Jail.

Police were called to an apartment in the 1900 block of S. Conway Road around 8:30 p.m. after the man's girlfriend called 911. She told officers Rizk came home from work in an "altered state of mind" and called her a slew of bad names before strangling a cat and beating her up, a report shows.

The girlfriend told police Rizk has a mental condition and was not taking his medication. He'd also been known to cut himself in the past, according to Rizk's arrest affidavit.

Rizk disconnected the telephone, turned off the lights and told his girlfriend and her son that they were "Satan and demons and that they were dead meat," a report states. At that point, he picked up the family pet, a cat, and strangled it, the victim told police.

After strangling the cat, he kicked his girlfriend in the stomach and pushed her into a wall. She ran from the apartment and asked a neighbor for help to call 911.

Rizk threw the cat to the floor in the hallway and wouldn't let his girlfriend's son leave the apartment, the report said. The child later told police he was scared during the incident.

When police arrived, the apartment door was shut and locked, forcing officers to break down the door.

Rizk was locked inside the master bathroom and refused to come out. Police needed to check his well-being since he had a history of cutting himself, the report said.

Officers were forced to knock down the door to the bathroom. They used pepper spray, stunned him three times and finally had to use their batons to get Rizk to comply with their orders, the reports said.

Rizk was taken to jail where he remains behind bars.

From: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-man-strangles-cat-orlando-20100715,0,4204652.story